Week of November 4, 2019

Thank you for a fun and memorable Book Character Parade! Thanks for your flexibility as we brought it inside.  Each year I am impressed with the number of participants and the genius costume ideas that emerge.  We had over 100 parents attend.  What an amazing week on Twitter for Lee Elementary.  You all do such a fabulous job of telling our story to all.  It is noticed AND valued!

DID YOU KNOW:

• we have quite a few educators going to the Restorative Practices conference on Monday and Tuesday?  We cannot wait for them to return because MANY of them will be certified in restorative circles.  They will be sharing their learning at our next Staff Meeting.
• that Principal's were informed that all of CISD should have WiFi upgrades by Winter Break?  YAY!
• that some of the name tags are coming off of backpacks or fading?  Please double check that that ALL learners have backpack tags and their number can be read.  It is about safety!
• that all employees have professional development on 2/14?  Hourly employees are not eligible to use comp time on this day.  I want to let you know this now so you can schedule accordingly.
• the district is having its 2nd Annual Gingerbread Contest at the Admin Building?  If you have an interest in creating our Lee FROZEN themed Winter Wonderland entry, please let Chantel know.  NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED and we can help with supplies for it.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE
Thank you for making relationships and engagement with our FamiLEEs a priority!  I appreciate you carving out some time to be there for our PTO and children.  We will have lots of canned food that grades/houses are welcome to use for authentic math experiences.  We will have Metrocrest and Lions Club pick up the food in two weeks.  Please share these images one last time with your parents.  Explain to them what a silent auction is- they may not know.

DESIGN DAYS

Design days start on Friday.  What should you be doing during this time?  We want you to look at unpacking TEKS for the 2nd 9 weeks.  Lesson design should be a priority, so it will be helpful to review your 2nd 9 weeks curriculum documents and scope and sequences before your day so that you can contribute to the work.  We will have DLCs and support staff in your Design Day with you.  Please plan to begin your design time at 7:10 (in the large conference room).  If you are in Blue or Yellow houses, you will conclude your work at 11:00, to eat lunch.  Other houses will work on grade level content until 11:30 and eat at their scheduled lunch times.  

VETERANS DAY

Please send your Veteran's Day cards down to the office by the end of the day, Friday, November 1.  Please share this Veteran's sign up to parents and guests who plan to attend our Veteran's Day event on Monday, November 12.  Purple House will be performing immediately following morning broadcast.  Thank you, Linda and Purple House, for all of your preparation and work!

PTO MEETING

Please make sure that you have learners ready to present from your house.  Please encourage them to keep their presentations to 2 minutes, or less.  THANK YOU! 

CALENDAR INPUT

CISD is seeking calendar input for the next two years.  If you want to weigh in,  I encourage you to email input@coppellisd.com.  For example, I sent an email suggesting time be provided to elementary teachers at the end of each 9 weeks to complete report cards.  This is information that was shared with parents last week: 

Calendar Input Requested by Nov. 8

The CISD District Education Improvement Council (DEIC) is seeking input from the CISD community, as it begins the process for setting the district’s next two-year calendar (2020-21 and 2021-2022.) The CISD community is asked to email suggestions to input@coppellisd.com by the end of the day Friday, Nov. 8. Please include the school(s) your children attend with your input. This feedback will be shared with the DEIC’s Calendar subcommittee in October and November.  The DEIC will share two calendar options with the CISD community for input in late November through January. The CISD Board of Trustees is set to vote on adopting the district’s next two-year calendar at its Jan. 14, 2020 meeting.

TOUR

We have a large group of guests visiting from Canada, this week.  They are from the Apple Distinguished Schools family and will be looking at technology integration and lesson design.  It is a good time to "wall walk" your classroom before Thursday.  Invite a housemate (or Jacque) in for their opinion.  Maybe it is time to move the furniture around?  Are your anchor charts current?  Have you started using a countertop or table as a teacher desk in your space?  Do you have current (not older than a few weeks) learner work posted in your space?  Do you have evidence of CBL learning?  Are daily learning targets posted?  Thanks for your attention to these topics!  

CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN

Please send your house documentation to Leigh Ann, by Friday.   Either use mark up or Noteability on the linked PDF to document evidence for the first nine weeks.  

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

We have SO MUCH TALENT on campus.  Please take time to nominate someone in our building.   If you need admin to cover your class so you can observe your nominee, to help you better answer the questions, please arrange that with us.  We are happy to help.  Nominations are due on, FRIDAY, November 8.

CISD APP

Please remind your parents that they should download the CISD Mobile App.  They may not know that they can view items like grades, assignments, attendance, and lunch balances on the app.  They can set up alerts to notify them when grades drop below a certain threshold, too. 

PANORAMA SURVEY FOR THIRD -> FIFTH GRADE

3-5 Designers, please have your learners complete the Panorama survey by November 22.  Please read this important document about it from CISD.

CISD FOCUSED WALKTHROUGH

Great job on managing student behavior for the last month.  We saw great strategies that show evidence you are all doing your very best to provide a superior environment for the children.  This week we will begin giving feedback in an instructional area.  We will begin with Domain 2 Dimension 5: Monitor and Adjust.  We will be looking for evidence of how you are managing and monitoring learner engagement.  Are you noticing when you need to adjust pacing?  Are you scaffolding your questioning?  How are you checking for understanding along the way?  

ESL THIS WEEK
This document was created by an ESL facilitator that shares the data differences between NWEA MAP and iStation?

DATES TO REMEMBER:
Welcome back to Stephanie Shannon this week!
November ISIP should be administered this week
November 4- 2nd Grade Design Day
     Restorative Practices Conference (Irving)
November 5- Education Foundation Shirt and Jeans
     Today will be a DAY 5
     5th Grade Design Day
     Restorative Practices Conference (Irving)
     Allaso Ranch Chaperone Meeting (5:45 Cafe)
     PTO Meeting (6:30 Cafe)
November 6-  College Shirt Day
     Picture Retake Day
     4th Grade Design Day
     LEEdership Council Meeting (Blue Housee 1:00)
     Staff Meeting (3:30 Corissa's Space)
November 7- Spurs Savings (7:20-7:40)
     Today will be a DAY 3
     3rd Grade Design Day
     1st Grade Field Trip (Arboretum)
     Apple Tour (9:00-11:30)
     Parent Book Study (6:00)
November 8- TOY Nominations Due to CK
     CIP documentation due to Admin
     Kindergarten Design Day

Week of October 28, 2019

We appreciate your participation in this week's Red Ribbon Week spirit days. We saw some interesting pajamas and hairstyles this week, FOR SURE!  We had a wonderful day of tours, today.  All three tours commented on how engaged our learners are!  THANK YOU for your constant efforts to showcase the greatness that is inside Lee when we have guests!  While we have a beautiful building, it is WHAT YOU ARE DESIGNING that impresses our visitors.  We hope to see you, for a little bit, at the dance on Friday and CANNOT wait to see your Book Character Parade Costumes next week!  Have an awesome weekend.

DID YOU KNOW:

• you should inform the front office and CK & LAH if your learners are moving or going to be on extended leave? 
• you should phone to check on a learner that is absent 3 consecutive days?
• some mailboxes are not being emptied daily?  Please remember to visit your box, at your lunch time, so that important information and items make their way to you and your learners. 
• you MUST hit submit to appraiser on your SLO before you leave for the weekend?
• Keiko and the Compost Crew are collecting vegetable scraps and used coffee grounds EVERY FRIDAY for composting?  They can bring them to the cafeteria each Friday morning.  Please share this information with your parents.

WRITE A CHECK

It is our final week for our Write a Check campaign.  We are halfway to our goal.  Please turn in your WAC Acknowledgement Forms to the front office, daily.  Good luck, and thank you for pumping this up with your learners!  I have heard of individual class incentives being offered- THANK YOU!

BOOK CHARACTER PARADE
Learners can dress up this day and parade as their favorite book character.  Please bring a book to accompany your costume.  If parents would like to attend, please have them sign up here and we will have a visitor's badge preprinted for them to avoid waiting upon arrival.  

SCHOOL DANCE

Our Fall School Dance is approaching.  Please  plan to bring your family to this FUN school event.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

We have SO MUCH TALENT on campus.  Please take time to nominate someone in our building.   If you need admin to cover your class so you can observe your nominee, to help you better answer the questions, please arrange that with us.  We are happy to help.  Nominations are due November 8.

SCHOOL PICTURES

We have placed school pictures in your mailboxes.  Please share in your newsletters:

Still need to order? Order online here and use your Portrait ID and Access Code found in your portrait envelope.

DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH

Did you know… Writing letters backwards is not necessarily a sign a learner has dyslexia?  Click here to read more about letter reversal.

CIP
The Campus Improvement Plan can be found here. Please have your house review and make annotations on a house copy by November 15.

VETERANS DAY

Veteran's Day is quickly approaching.  Have you seen Linda's beautiful decorations?  Please share this Veteran's sign up for parents and guests to attend for our Veteran's Day event.  Don't forget that we have been invited by a School Board member to donate Veteran's Day letters to the Greater Dallas Veteran's Foundation.  Please incorporate this request into your writing plans the next few weeks and send your published letters to the office by November 1.  We will also share some of these letters with a Veteran that Jessica has made contact with.

TTESS OBSERVATION SIGN UP

Please make sure you have signed up for your TTESS Observation with Chantel and Leigh Ann by Monday.  The Pre-observation Conference Form is here.

PARENT FEEDBACK

Based on some conversation with parents, there is concern that they aren't always sure what learners are doing during the school day.  Fourth and fifth Designers, please include in your newsletters a reminder to your parents (I know you shared at Curriculum Night) that they can access grades through the Home Access Center.  This presentation (thank you Khan gals who created this a couple of years ago) can help your parents understand how to use this tool at home to keep on top of learner grades.  A friendly reminder to you, to get grades posted weekly.  All Designers using Schoology,  please remind parents that they can access learner work using information found here.  If you use other tools (such as Notability, Drive, SeeSaw, etc) please resend information out this week reminding all parents.  Thank you for your help. 

HOLIDAY ASSISTANCE

Please include in your newsletters: The Coppell Lion's Club provides holiday baskets and toys to needy families in Coppell's attendance area.  If you and your family are in need this holiday season, please reach out to Angela Garvin by phone (214)496-7912 or email agarvin@coppellisd.com so that she can send home a confidential family input sheet.  As always, if we can help with any additional resources, please don't hesitate to ask.

CISD FOCUSED WALKTHROUGH

This week, is the last week, we will give feedback on Domain 3 Dimension 2:  Student Behavior.  We will be looking for evidence of praise and positivity as management strategies.  We will listen for encouragement of learners and how you monitor and respond to learners while teaching and learning.  Learners should manage themselves with minimal teacher redirection.  We should see evidence in your space of class respect agreements and view high expectations for ALL. 

ESL THIS WEEK

DATES TO REMEMBER:
Final Week of Write a Check
Welcome back to our Mommas this week!  We've missed you Taylor, Stormy, and Jacque!
Oct 28-  RtI Meetings
     CoGAT training (3:30-4:15)
October 30- House Shirt with Jeans
     Jessica's Birthday
     Meeting with Mr. Hunt (Media Center Flex Space 3:30-4:00)
October 31- Spurs Savings (7:20-7:40)
     Storybook Character Parade (8:00-8:30)
     New Learner Lunches (Lunchtimes)
Nov 1- Yellow House cleans the lounge this month
     Veteran's Day Letters Due to Office
     So You Think You Can Dance (6:30-8:30)

Week of October 21, 2019

We are super excited to host Sasha and Elida for their student teaching experience.  They are going to do such a great job with Cassie and May!  If you haven't had a chance yet, please introduce yourself and make time to welcome them to our FamiLEE!  We are going to learn as much from them as they will from us.  Thank you for a great job sharing learning during our Board Walk on Wednesday.  YOU make our school the showplace it is!  Leigh Ann and I are so grateful for the love and appreciation each of you have shown us this week.  Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity.  There is NO PLACE we would rather be than right here at Lee!

DID YOU KNOW:

• that Leigh Ann and Chantel will be visiting each space, Friday morning, with a special announcement?  Please excuse the brief interruption!
• there are 20 emojis that teachers use most and here is what they REALLY mean?
• there is a cool infographic about how school librarians are helping to transform learning?  We are so lucky to have Natalie in our Media Center and that she is invested in collaborating with classes and houses.  A friendly reminder: I expect for you to be engaged and invested in the learning experience when your class is there.  This is a great opportunity to co-teach and learn about media resources in CISD.  
• that we have been invited by a School Board member to donate Veteran's Day letters to the Greater Dallas Veteran's Foundation.  Please incorporate this request into your writing plans the next few weeks and send your published letters to the office by November 1.
• you can "BOO" a staff member?  If you want to participate, copy an image of the BOO sign (from one of the mailboxes) and tape it to the mailbox of the person you BOO.  Thanks, Beth, for starting this holiday fun.  What a great way to build community!

ECO POND UPDATE

We found out today that our EcoPond is going under repair, starting tomorrow.  This means that we will be moving water, plants, and fish into temporary kiddie pools while the work is being completed.  This will be a delicate process, and we want to keep as many plants and animals alive as possible.  We need to ask for everyone's help in making sure that ALL learners understand and do not disturb or bother the temp ponds or the EcoPond while this work is done.  Thank you to Sam and Dee for tackling this project with our learners.

REPORT CARDS
Don't forget to send report cards home on Friday.  Remember, if you have learners below a 70, or who have IPS's, that you are required to offer tutoring.  We will pay you $25 an hour for tutoring your learners before or after contract hours.


WRITE A CHECK

Write a Check is one week underway.  Please turn in your WAC Acknowledgement Forms to the front office, daily.  Good luck, and thank you for pumping this up with your learners!

RED RIBBON WEEK

Red Ribbon Week is here!  Please share this information with your FamiLEEs.  We hope you will have fun participating each day.  If you participate, you can wear jeans.  THANK YOU, Angela, and 5th grade LEEdership Council members for your vision.

MAGIC SHOW

PTO is sponsoring magician, Mike Wand, for Red Ribbon Week.  His magic show will be from 1:15-2:00 for grades 3-5 and 2:15-3:00 for grades K-2.  Thank you, Purple House, for eating in your house on Monday, so that we can get the cafeteria prepped for our guest.  K-2 Designers, you will want to make sure to have learner backpacks ready before heading down.  We will send you back to your houses for dismissal, but there will not be time to pack them up.  Thank you, Angela, for getting this scheduled and coordinated!

LEE FEEDER NIGHT

Please invite learners and their families to join the CHS Volleyball team at the CHS Arena.  Our Lee Feeder Night event on Tuesday Night and we will be joined by CRE and VRE.  Every learner that wears a Lee shirt gets in for free.

TEAM TIME

I think we can all agree that we have one mighty Specials team.  Thank you to each of them for the way that they are "all in" with incorporating Restorative Practices and Challenge Based Learning into their learning experiences with our children.  Please remind parents that our Specials Team has a Specials website and a 2nd Quarter Update showcasing what Big Idea, Essential Question, and Challenge our learners are choosing to be invested in for this round of Team Time. 

BOOK CHARACTER PARADE
Learners can dress up this day and parade as their favorite book character.  If parents would like to attend, please have them sign up here and we will have a visitor's badge preprinted for them.  

DESIGN DAYS
Stay tuned for more information, but...we will most likely host grade level Design Days, starting on November 1, with First Grade.  Leadership, please let me know, by end of day Friday, if we need to adjust our plans.  

SCHOOL DANCE

Our Fall School Dance is approaching.  Please mark your calendars and plan to bring your family to this FUN school event.

DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH

What are some signs of Dyslexia?

The problems displayed by individuals with dyslexia involve difficulties in acquiring and using written language. It is a myth that individuals with dyslexia “read backwards,” although spelling can look quite jumbled at times because students have trouble remembering letter symbols for sounds. Other problems experienced by people with dyslexia include the following:

·         Learning to speak

·         Learning letters and their sounds- difficulty saying alphabet without singing

·         Organizing written and spoken language

·         Memorizing math facts

·         Reading quickly enough to comprehend

·         Bizarre Spelling

Not all students who have difficulties with these skills have dyslexia. Formal testing of reading, language, and writing skills is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of suspected dyslexia. The important thing to remember is that EVERY child is different when it comes to testing. (IDA-https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-basics/).

CISD FOCUSED WALKTHROUGH
This week, we will give feedback on Domain 3 Dimension 2:  Student Behavior.  We will be looking for evidence of praise and positivity as management strategies.  We will listen for encouragement of learners and how you monitor and respond to learners while teaching and learning.  Learners should manage themselves with minimal teacher redirection.  We should see evidence in your space of class respect agreements and view high expectations for ALL. 

ESSENTIAL TRUTHS BOOK STUDY
Keep up the responding and reflecting on Twitter!  We appreciate those of you responding to posts by your peers!  

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

We have SO MUCH TALENT on campus.  Please take time to nominate someone.   If you need admin to cover your class so you can observe your nominee, to help you better answer the questions, please arrange that with us.  We are happy to help.  Nominations are due November 8.

ESL FOR THE WEEK

DATES TO REMEMBER:
National School Bus Safety Week
Red Ribbon Week
Write a Check
October 19- L'Oreal's Birthday
October 21- Magic Show with Mr. Wand to kick off Red Ribbon Week (1:15 and 2:15)
October 22- Lee Feeder Night for Volleyball
October 23- School Shirt with Jeans
     Staff Meeting (3:30-5:00 Sam's Space)
October 24-  Spurs Savings (7:20-7:40 Cafe)
     Lee Learning Walk (8:00-9:00)
     Tour Day (9:00 and 1:00)
October 25- LEEdership Meeting (8:00-9:00)

Week of October 14, 2019

It is hard to believe we have already concluded our first quarter of the year.  Thank you for all of your hard work learning new Units of Study, new report card rubrics, new digital tools like Dreambox and MAP, trading for new iPads, and MORE this first nine weeks.  Please take time to celebrate how far you have come in this time.  Some of you had never even used a Mac before and look what you are doing now?!  We had a wonderful Kindergarten Career Parade and I can't wait for our first Spirit Rally of the year.  Best wishes with your Fall Conferences and enjoy the three day weekend!  You have earned it!

DID YOU KNOW:

• there are archived videos to help you with your house Vivitek Boards?  If you want to learn more check them out here. 

SPIRIT RALLY
Don't forget there is an adjusted schedule tomorrow so that all houses have conference time tomorrow.  We will start calling you down at about 7:50.  We would like to begin promptly at 8:00.  Specials, we will see you at 8:15.   Designers, remember to please sit in the crowd with your learners, not standing on the fringe.  Parents are invited to attend.

REPORT CARDS

A friendly reminder to make sure that comments are positive and personalized on your report cards.  Don't write a paragraph, but a couple/few sentences should be sufficient.  A great idea Jacque had was to go in and write a couple of comments each day, instead of all at once, so it isn't so overwhelming.  Report cards will be uploaded at 8:00 on TUESDAY, so please mark this deadline on your calendars.  If you have any learners with >5 tardies or >5 absences it is a best practice to touch base with the parent and Leigh Ann to express your concern.

WRITE A CHECK
Write a Check starts next week.  Please send home acknowledgement forms before the long weekend.  Collect these and turn them in to the office daily.  Our PTO will be calculating how many forms come in.  There will be class awards for those with the greatest participation.  The class that collects the most funds will also get a gift card from PTO.  It is imperative that you talk up this three week event- we are trying to raise funds for all the items listed below, plus: house buses for field trips, teacher grants, and more!

FLU SHOTS
Dr Swaldi's office will be at Lee on Tuesday, Oct 15, from 1:00pm-1:45pm to administer flu shots. Ameira has the insurance forms for those that have insurance with CISD. Bring a copy of your driver's license and Insurance card (front and back) to the flu shot clinic. Otherwise it is $40 cash or check. 

FamiLEE CAMP IN

Please advertise next Friday's FamiLEE Camp In to your parents and learners. It is a super FUN event and is one way our dads earn funds for projects they help us with at school.  Here is the link for families to register.  (I'm aware the link is last year's date and have requested that be corrected and their event flier be created for us to share.  Unfortunately, I haven't received it, yet!)

RED RIBBON WEEK

In two weeks Red Ribbon Week will be here.  Here is information to share with our FamiLees, now. so they can be prepared.

DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH

Dys means “not” or “difficult” and Lexia means “words” or “reading”

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia affects up to 1 in 5 people, but the experience of dyslexia isn't always the same. This difficulty in processing language exists along a spectrum. Please watch this short clip to learn more about dyslexic brain function. Learn how the brain works for learners with dyslexia and what parts of the brain functions while reading. Email Melissa something you found interesting in the video for a chance to win a sonic drink of your choice!

THANKSGIVING BASKETS

Every year St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Coppell provides Thanksgiving baskets with supplies to cook a turkey a dinner to those in need. If you could benefit from this assistance, please click on the link below and fill out the Google form as accurately as possible. By completing this form you understand this information will be shared with St. Ann’s Catholic Church for distribution of your basket. Please fill out this form no later than October 16th. Thank you!

TOY

Please review the email forwarded to you regarding Lee's Teacher of the Year nominations.  If you need admin to cover your class so you can observe your nominee, to help you better answer the questions, please arrange that with us.  We are happy to help.  Nominations are due November 8.

BOOK CHARACTER PARADE and SCHOOL DANCE

October 31st is our Book Character Parade and November 1 is our School Dance, so please mark your calendars now, so you can participate.  Please start talking up the Book Character Parade to your learners, NOW, so they have time to think about and prepare their costume for the 31st.  Wouldn't it be awesome if ALL kids participated?

CISD FOCUSED WALKTHROUGH

All staff should have received at least one walkthrough in Domain 3.1:  Environment.  Starting this week, we will give feedback on Domain 3 Dimension 2:  Student Behavior.  We will be looking for evidence of praise and positivity as management strategies.  We will listen for encouragement of learners and how you monitor and respond to learners while teaching and learning.  Learners should manage themselves with minimal teacher redirection.  We should see evidence in your space of class respect agreements and view high expectations for ALL. 

ESL FOR THE WEEK

Just a reminder if you haven't added the course yet: Claudia and Stormy are hosting a professional development novel study over Sheltered Instruction in Texas. You have the opportunity to earn 6 SBEC hours for completing the book study with us! We will complete the book study together during Team Times and other designated professional development times by completing various activities in  Schoology. Not to worry, we will complete ALL of the chapters together. If you have any questions OR are in need of a book, please let us know! You can sign up for the course ahead of time!

Course Code: ZCZM-MFCQ-PXRPG

DATES TO REMEMBER:
National School Lunch Week
Digital Citizenship Week
PTO Write A Check Begins
October 14- Corissa's Birthday
     NO SCHOOL
October 15- CISD Ed Foundation Shirt and Jeans
     Welcome to our Student Teachers Ms. Domingues and Ms. Vargas
     Flu Shots (1:00)
October 16- National Bosses Day
     Convocation Shirt and Jeans
     CISD Board Visit @ Lee     
     Announce Red and Black Super Stars on Lee Live
     Leadership Meeting (Layne's Room) TWO CHAPTERS DUE
October 17- Spurs Savings (7:10-7:40 Cafe)
October 18- Deepa's Birthday
     Report Cards sent home
     Dad's Club Camp In (7:00pm -8:00 am)

Week of October 7, 2019

THANK YOU ALL FOR ANOTHER AMAZING WEEK AT LEE!  Thank you to Social Spurs for the gift cards for our custodians and to the staff that made Israel feel so celebrated.  He told me he had the BEST DAY!  I appreciate all that attended the lengthy PTO meeting and/or helped learners with their presentations.  Your responses to our first three Essential Truths have been thoughtful and I hope they give you the chance to remind yourself WHY you teach and WHY you are at Lee.  Thank you to all of you that hosted visitors in your spaces this week.  I recognize the intrusion and also the intentional planning that many of you do to leave the best impression with our guests.  Please know how VERY PROUD you make me.  Our visitors went on and on about how engaged our learners are, how willing they are to talk about the learning they are a part of, and were so impressed by all that they saw.  My favorite question at the end of the tour to our group of 20 was...can you tell there are 12 new staff members and 5 out on maternity?  Their wide eyes assured me that they could not even tell.  That is how amazing each of you are!  I know that where we are is a famiLEE effort that comes from supporting and loving one another.  When I think of our theme "Attitude of Gratitude," I have such gratefulness for each and every person in our building and for the part you play in making each and every day the BEST for our learners and each other.  I wish you the most FABULOUS FRIDAY and hope you will leave as soon as learners are safely gone on Friday.

DID YOU KNOW:

• there is a template to use with learners for Bulb this year? If your learner was at Lee last year the only change is the STEAM collection is now called Create and Design. Learners will need to change the title of their STEAM folder to Create and Design.  If learners are new to CISD they will need to copy the whole template. If learners came from another campus they will need to just add the Create and Design page to their specials collection.   See your DLC if you have any questions or need any help.
• that Aparna is going to help Keiko with Garden Gurus and Compost Crew?  THANK YOU, Aparna, for helping to support our outdoor learning!
• that Kindergarten is partnering with Keiko and will be planting a flower garden next to our garden plots?
• that our garden beds are going to be rebuilt, so in the meantime, learners will grow in fabric containers?  How cool is THAT?!  Did you see our compost delivery?
• that dongles and Apple Pencils are in from CISD!  If you are a new hire and technology has not given you your own Pencil or Dongle, I need to know immediately.  Please text me what you have not received before your lunch on Friday.  

BULLYING AWARENESS
October is National Bullying Prevention Month.  CISD is asking that all staff and students wear a blue shirt, on Monday, in observance of National Bullying Awareness Day. Thanks for your participation!   You are welcome to wear jeans with your blue shirt.

TEAM TIME FOR 2ND 9 WEEKS
Don't forget to show your learners this video and have them complete the Google Forms, emailed by Jessica, so that Specials has time to get the new class lists organized.  Thank you, Specialists for ALL of your hard work designing new Team Time sessions for the children!

CAREER PARADE
Please join us as we cheer on Kindergarten during their Career Parade at 8:00 on Wednesday morning.  Please seat learners along the walls and halls so that they may be cheered on by their school.

SPIRIT ASSEMBLY
For those new to Lee, this is our 9 week celebration as a school.  We will host morning broadcast in the gym and sit by house.  We will call you down at 7:50 so we can start promptly at 8:00.  We run an adjusted schedule this day, so review the Spirit Rally and Music Program Schedule Tab on the Master Schedule.


SESSION 2 COOKING CLUB
Please share with parents: The second session of Lee Cooking Club is open for learners who want to join, after school, on Tuesdays. 

FLU SHOTS
Dr Swaldi's office will be at Lee on Tuesday, Oct 15, from 1:00pm-1:45pm to administer flu shots. Ameira has the insurance forms for those that have insurance with CISD. Bring a copy of your driver's license and Insurance card (front and back) to the flu shot clinic. Otherwise it is $40 cash or check. 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Please share that parents:  Mark your calendars, our dance is less than a month away!

PTO MEMBERSHIP TOOLKIT
Please share with your parents:  Parents, thank you for being members of our Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).  Please take a moment to check your PTO Membership Toolkit settings.  We want to be mindful to protect your privacy, so if you have not adjusted your settings, you will want to review your Directory and Publish Preferences settings to ensure that unwanted personal information is not viewable to members.


CAMPUS iBOOK
Please share with your parents:  Did you know that there is a new book about our school in the iTunes library?  You can download it, for free, here.

CISD FOCUSED WALKTHROUGH

All staff should have received at least one walkthrough in Domain 3.1:  Environment.  Starting this week, we will give feedback on Domain 3 Dimension 2:  Student Behavior.  We will be looking for evidence of praise and positivity as management strategies.  We will listen for encouragement of learners and how you monitor and respond to learners while teaching and learning.  Learners should manage themselves with minimal teacher redirection.  We should see evidence in your space of class respect agreements and view high expectations for ALL. 

OCTOBER IS DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH
Each week, this month, Melissa will share videos and information to build our awareness of dyslexia.  You can also follow her on Twitter to see what learners do in their MLI class.  This short clip information on dyslexia.  Also, did you know...Apple has several helpful assistive technology tools for your learners with dyslexia to use on their iPad? Click here for Apple's guide to Accessibility.  Below is a list of options in accessibility that could be helpful:

• Speech- speak selections and Speak Screens
• Highlight content
• Dictation (Click microphone and enable)
• Reader view on Safari
• Color Filter / Invert colors
• Predictive Keyboard
• OH AND MELISSA IS HAVING A BABY!

ESL FOR THE WEEK
The National Center for Research on Gifted Education (NCRGE) at the University of Connecticut is excited to share 15 tips for identifying gifted EL students.  The tips are based on research findings from visiting schools that have a record of successfully identifying EL students for their gifted programs.  

DATES TO REMEMBER:
National Fire Prevention Week
Oct 7- Wear Blue Monday
Oct 8- Mentor/Mentee Onboarding Meeting (wear your shirts and jeans) (3:35 Layne's Room)
Oct 9- College Shirt Day
     Kinder Career Parade (8:00)
     Staff Meeting- (3:30-5:00 May's space) ALL STAFF ATTENDS- there is required content
Oct 10- Spurs Savings (before school Cafe)
Oct 11- Kristina's Birthday
     Aisha's Birthday
     Conference Day   
Oct 12- Shanna's Birthday

RED RIBBON WEEK IS TWO WEEKS AWAY!